A place to share the creativity, passion, trials, and humor of being an art teacher.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Back to Work with Mayan Masks

Ready to dry!

Finished!

It was AWESOME to have two weeks off for Spring Break, now it's back to work and back to blogging! I am so excited to watch the fifth grader's Mayan masks coming together. My husband and I had taken a tour of Chichen Itza, outside Cancun, last fall and I fell in love with the history and art. I bought a mask and based a clay project on my purchase. The kids were so intrigued by the Mayan culture and were really involved in the project. They researched the meaning of animals in the Mayan culture and also came up with their own interpretation of animal meanings. Then, they picked two animals they felt best represented their own personalities. We carved this into clay, fired them and finally started painting them this week. These are the first several that are finished.

About Me

My name is Liz. I am an artist. I am a teacher. Actually, I am an art teacher! This blog is an outlet for my excitement; excitement about my lessons, students, stories and inspirations. I have been so inspired by other art teacher blogs and my hope is that this site might inspire others as well!
I graduated from Metropolitan State College with my BFA in Art Education, emphasis in drawing. Now, I teach elementary kids about art, which has got to be the coolest job in the world, right? My philosophy of art education, briefly, is that the most important part of what I teach is found in the process of making art rather than the final product. I like to focus on creative critical thinking because that is something every kid can take from me, not just the ones who will grow into artists one day.